Folding furniture



(No Model.)

G.H.STRONG.

FOLDING FURNITURE. No. 390,815 Patented Oct. 9 1888 W/TIVESSES: INVENTOR- N. PETERS. Pm vliiho n m. Wahihgwn. UJc.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE H. STRONG, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

FOLDING FURNITURE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 390,815, dated October 9, 1888.

Application filed October '24, 1887. Serial No. 253,270. (No model.) 7

T aZZ whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE H. STRONG, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois,haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Folding Furniture, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, illustrating the invention, in which Figure 1 is an isometrical perspective representation of my furniture as formed for a bed; Fig. 2, a representation of the furniture as folded to form a sofa. Fig. 3 shows the furniture in the form of a chair. Fig. 4 is an en larged sectional detail taken vertically on line 2:, Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a transverse vertical section through one arm of the chair on line a and a broken vertical section of the seat 0 thereof on line 3 Fig. 6, an enlarged view of one catch for connecting the arms of the chair with the back. Fig. 7 is an enlarged View of one of the hinges employed to connect the folding sect-ions; Fig. 8, an enlarged detail of a hinge-connection.

The purpose of this invention is to construct a piece of furniture so that it is interchangeable to form a bed, sofa or lounge, and chair.

The construction will be fully understood by the following detail description:

A B D 0 represent the folding sections of the furniture, the tops of which and the under side of O are to be upholstered in anyform or style desired. The sections A O are hinged together at I Land the section B is detachably connected with the section A by means of a rod, G H, which is secured to the section B by screws put through two flattened parts, H, and by means of a plate, J, secured to the inner edge ofsection A. The inner top corner ofsaid section A is rabbeted out, as shown in section at Fig. 4, that the rod G may catch over the top part of plate J and at the same time lie level with the top of the section. The section 1) is provided with a like rod, as G H, and it rests,when the sections are employed as a bed, as at Fig. 1, on a rabbetin the inner top edge ofO similar to the one formed in the inner top edge of the section A; but no plate J is attached to section 0, the rod and rabbet serving the same purpose, only as though the inner top edge of section D was rabbeted onto the inner top edge of section 0. The parts A G stand on fixed legs L; but the parts B D are provided with ordinary folding legs, one of which is shown at Z.

The portions shown at E E are provided each at their outer sides with one or more metal tenons, P, Fig. 5, which enter inortises'i in the sections, and thus serve as a head-board or bolster for the furniture when used as a bed, as at Fig. 1, and when the sections B O are folded up, as shown at Fig. 2, the parts E serve as arms or ends to the sofa.

To form a chair, the section O is folded on the top of section A. This brings the legs L of that part on top, as shown at Fig. 5. The parts E are hollow, as shown, and are placed over the legs, and the tenons P placed in mortisesi in the part 0, and in those positions form the arms of the chair. The sections B D are first folded together and then brought up to form theback of the chair. The outer ends of sections A B and D O are hinged together, and the hinge WV V, connecting the parts D O, is attachable and detachable by means of a latch, a, and a forked slide, dd, running under guides 12 b, Fig. 7. The latch a engages an ordinary raised headed screw-catch put into the edges of section B, and the forks of the slide 0 engage the screw-catch under the head, so that the section D may be connected to or folded back onto the section B, the two sections being hinged at the back side for that purpose, as shown at m, Fig. 3.

In practice the sections 13 D will be held together when they serve as the back to the chair by one or more ordinary spring-catches, a, suitably concealed by the upholstery, and the back to the sofa, Fig. 2, or to the chair, Fig. 8, is to be held to the arms E by catches. One suitable kind is shown at g, Fig. 3; but for the better kinds of furniture I prefer to place catches, as at M, longitudinally inside of the hollow arms E and adjust them by set-screws N, put through slots 1 therein, to give the back any desired pitch and at the same time have the catches as much out of sight as possible. The upholstering is shown to be of the simplest style; but it may be elaborate.

To form the sofa, Fig. 2, from the bed shown at Fig. 1, ,remove the back bolster, E, and secure it to the left-hand end of section 0, inserttoo ing its tenon in place in the same manner as the tenon P is represented as inserted at Fig. 5. Then bring the sections B D up to the ends of the bolsters or parts E and secure them by hooks or catches 9. (Shown at Fig. 3.) To form a chair, as at Fig. 3, from the bed shown at Fig. 1, lift the bolsters E from sections A B, fold the section 0 flat on section A to bring its legs L on top, close the legs L and fold section D flat on the back of section B, and secure the sections by the catch WV V. Then insert the tenonsPof the bolsters E in mortises in the top of section 0 and secure the bolsters to section by the catches g or by the equivalent fastening shown at M N in both bolsters E, the latter fastening being the best, in that by it the back sections of the chair may have any desired incline, and in that it is wholly out of sight when the back of the chair is brought against the bolsters.

The material distinction between this furniture from that of prior use is in the removable parts E, which serve as arms to the chair and sofa and bolster for the bed, and in their being hollow to cover thelegs L, which, when made, asin practice, to filltransversely the hol low portions, form suitable strong supports to the arms E when used as a part of a chair.

I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. The combination of the sections A O, hinged together at I I, said sections being rabbetcd on their rear edges and the section A provided with the plate J, the sections 13 D,

hinged together at their lower meeting edges and the section B provided with the rod G H, engaging the rabbet and plate in section A, and the section D provided with a like rod, G H, engaging the rabbet in the section 0, substantially as described.

2. The combination of the sections A G, hinged together at I I, said sections being rah beted on their rear edges and the section A provided with the plate J, the sections B D, hinged together at their lower meeting edges and theseetion B provided with rod G H, engaging the rabbet and plate in section A, and section D provided with alike rod, G 11, engaging the rabbet in section 0, and the bolsters E F, provided with tenons engaging mortiscs in sections A B, as specified.

3. The combination of sections A (J, hinged together at I I, said sections being rabbeted on their rear edges and the section A provided with plate J, the sections 13 D, hinged together at their lower meeting edges, the section B provided with rods G H, engaging the rabbet and plate in section A, and section D pro vided with a like rod, G H, engaging the raly bet in section 0, and the hollow bolsters E E, provided with tenons engaging mortises in section 0, the catch a, and adjustable catch M N,

substantially as described.

GEORGE H. STRONG.

Witnesses:

G. L. CHAPIN, H. A. SMITH. 

